By the 254.ke Newsroom
Kenya’s Rising Lionesses won the women’s rugby sevens gold medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday, Nov. 3, beating Australia 17-12 in extra time after the final finished 12-12 in normal time. Mitchelle Chemtai scored the decisive try, according to CGTN and The Standard. Citizen Digital describes it as Kenya’s first-ever gold medal in the event, and The Standard calls it the country’s first Olympic gold in a team sport.
How did Kenya win the Youth Olympics rugby sevens final?
Australia had beaten Kenya 17-5 in the pool stage and went into the final as favourites. Australia scored first. Captain Zain Hido levelled the match at 5-5 by half-time, according to CGTN and KBC (The Standard gives her surname as Mohamed).
Australia then pulled ahead 12-5 with a converted try in the second half. Kenya’s Josephine Kerubo scored a late try and Diana Wanjiku converted it, forcing extra time at 12-12. Chemtai crossed 87 seconds into the golden-point period, per CGTN, to settle the match.
Chemtai is a winger. Coach Knight Otuoma told CGTN he had tried to convert her into a forward, then told her he believed in her when another player was injured. Hido said the team had nearly given up when Australia went seven points clear.
Kenya’s path to the final
- Pool A: beat China 12-5 and hosts Senegal 19-0, then lost 17-5 to Australia.
- Semi-final: beat Madagascar 15-5, with Mitchel Abuga scoring twice, according to Citizen Digital.
- Final: beat Australia 17-12 after extra time.
- Bronze: Madagascar beat Czechia in the third-place match, a first medal at any Olympic level for the country, CGTN reported.
What does the gold medal mean for Kenya?
Kenya sent a record 53 athletes in 13 sports to Dakar, the first Youth Olympics held in Africa, according to EWN. Gold in the women’s sevens gives the delegation its marquee result of the Games, which run until Nov. 13. Outlets differ on how to describe it: the wording ranges from Kenya’s first gold in the event (Citizen Digital) to its first Olympic gold in a team sport (The Standard). This article does not claim a continental first, because none of the reports reviewed makes that claim.
Hido said the result could open doors for the players, including scholarships and sponsorships. The squad’s route to Dakar is covered in our earlier report on Kenya’s U-18 rugby team, and school-level sevens is growing, as in Maseno’s push to bring back KSSSA Rugby 7s. Competition details are on the World Rugby Dakar 2026 preview.
Frequently asked questions
Who did Kenya beat to win Youth Olympics rugby gold?
Kenya beat Australia 17-12 in extra time in the women’s sevens final in Dakar on Nov. 3, 2026.
Who scored the winning try?
Mitchelle Chemtai scored the golden-point try 87 seconds into extra time, according to CGTN and The Standard.
Who coaches the Rising Lionesses?
Knight Otuoma, whose surname is spelled Otwoma in some reports.
How many athletes did Kenya send to Dakar 2026?
A record 53 young athletes across 13 sports, 42 of them women, according to EWN.
Sources: CGTN Africa (Nov. 4), Citizen Digital (Nov. 2-3), The Standard (Nov. 5), KBC (Nov. 4), EWN (Oct. 20), World Rugby.
